During this period of time, I'm starting to see Tim Schafer as one of the many ambitious names that wanted to bring a more cinematic quality to the gaming medium. Point 'n clicks don't just have to be wacky and funny, they can tell a more proper story, something akin to a movie. I think it's here where Tim was really starting to push the company he was working under to prioritize these sorts of titles.
With that said, I can't really lie, this one's doing absolutely nothing for me. Maybe my disinterest in Mad Max-like settings was already the first sign that I should've stayed away, but even with the prospect of getting to watch some cool bike battles, and enjoy the aesthetic of those old 90's PC games, I've found the execution of everything here so drab, sluggish, and confusing (in the spirit of point 'n clicks of that time), that I don't think this would've hit even if I was a Mad Max fan.
The biggest complaint I can voice is the one that I've already done so in the past, which would be the LucasArts voice direction curse. In the case of Maniac Mansion, the problem with the voice direction there, was that it didn't match the crazed cartoony visuals. In the case of Full Throttle, the voice direction doesn't match the all-star cast. LucasArts must have presumably spent a ton of money to hire people like Mark Hamill, or Kath Soucie. Yet they pretty much never get an opportunity here to really flex their acting chops. No shouting, no major emotional range, so why bother hiring them at all?
The only reason I can think of is because star power makes your game look more appealing to purchase. But if I saw a poster for a big blockbuster movie with a cast of people I'm crazy for, and found out they all sound like they just got out of bed, I dunno, I'd be feeling a little bit ripped off, or in the very least, like an opportunity was squandered. LucasArts brought a bunch of big names to this video game, that's fine, but what do the big names bring to it?
As for everything else, I wanna say that there's some creative things in here, and I mean, you've got a couple hours, a guide if you're stuck, and you can clear this game, easy. It's short enough that you wouldn't really be able to waste your life playing it anyway, and it's always possible that you'll like it way more than what my shoddy little review here is saying. But for me, voice acting and voice delivery is everything in this sort of point 'n click. If it's not doing enough, then the rest of my engagement in every other aspect of the game falls apart. My engagement to solve the next obtuse puzzle, or deal with that really repetitive bike combat minigame, has to be reinforced by rewarding me with the next big joke, or the next big overall moment. And it's trying, it's definitely trying to hit me with these things, but the energy and the punch just isn't there.
With that said, I can't really lie, this one's doing absolutely nothing for me. Maybe my disinterest in Mad Max-like settings was already the first sign that I should've stayed away, but even with the prospect of getting to watch some cool bike battles, and enjoy the aesthetic of those old 90's PC games, I've found the execution of everything here so drab, sluggish, and confusing (in the spirit of point 'n clicks of that time), that I don't think this would've hit even if I was a Mad Max fan.
The biggest complaint I can voice is the one that I've already done so in the past, which would be the LucasArts voice direction curse. In the case of Maniac Mansion, the problem with the voice direction there, was that it didn't match the crazed cartoony visuals. In the case of Full Throttle, the voice direction doesn't match the all-star cast. LucasArts must have presumably spent a ton of money to hire people like Mark Hamill, or Kath Soucie. Yet they pretty much never get an opportunity here to really flex their acting chops. No shouting, no major emotional range, so why bother hiring them at all?
The only reason I can think of is because star power makes your game look more appealing to purchase. But if I saw a poster for a big blockbuster movie with a cast of people I'm crazy for, and found out they all sound like they just got out of bed, I dunno, I'd be feeling a little bit ripped off, or in the very least, like an opportunity was squandered. LucasArts brought a bunch of big names to this video game, that's fine, but what do the big names bring to it?
As for everything else, I wanna say that there's some creative things in here, and I mean, you've got a couple hours, a guide if you're stuck, and you can clear this game, easy. It's short enough that you wouldn't really be able to waste your life playing it anyway, and it's always possible that you'll like it way more than what my shoddy little review here is saying. But for me, voice acting and voice delivery is everything in this sort of point 'n click. If it's not doing enough, then the rest of my engagement in every other aspect of the game falls apart. My engagement to solve the next obtuse puzzle, or deal with that really repetitive bike combat minigame, has to be reinforced by rewarding me with the next big joke, or the next big overall moment. And it's trying, it's definitely trying to hit me with these things, but the energy and the punch just isn't there.